The new challenge for the next two weeks at Try it on Tuesday is Neat & Tidy.
Please note: If you are looking for my Texture page (I’m so excited to be guest host over at Art Journal Journey this month), please scroll down or click here.
I found our Try it on Tuesday theme very challenging as my art journal pages aren’t usually very neat and tidy (grin!). So I decided on an autumnal leaf design to welcome autumn/fall as it September signifies the beginning of this season – I hope you like it!
The background was covered in a piece of plain coloured paper using a glue stick.
I started my neat and tidy leaf design by creating a template for the columns of leaves; measuring and then die cutting the maple leaves so they were evenly spaced across the page. The maple leaves were cut using a Fall Foliage Thinlet from Tim Holtz and they were cut out of some linen textured cardstock. I cut 40 leaves in total, one by one using the template to position each leaf to create 8 columns, then I stuck 2 of the columns together to give more depth and dimension to the leaf die cutting.
Next I backed the leaf die cuts with some autumnal patterned papers from Craft Asylum and I used double-sided tape to stick the columns evenly across the page using the template to space them.
I used the template again to position the die cut leaves between the columns and achieve a uniform pattern. To finish, I added the “It’s Fall” image to the centre of the page, which is a sticker from Graphic 45.
For more inspiration, my fellow Design Teamies have also been Neat & Tidy over at Try it on Tuesday, please pop over and take a look.
As T Stands for Tuesday and it’s September maybe I can tempt you to a piece of homemade pumpkin roll filled with cream cheese frosting with your cuppa today. As you can see there’s even coffee today if you would prefer it to tea – Happy T Day!
Thanks for joining me today! If you have any questions or comments, I would love to hear from you.
Challenges
With the texture from the die cutting, papers and leaves, I’m pleased to join the Texture challenge over at Art Journal Journey where I’m Guest Host this month; it would be lovely to see you there!
I am so delighted to be hosting Art Journal Journey this month and the challenge theme that I have chosen for this month is Texture.
We would like you to have fun creating texture on your pages. As you can see from the different panels on my page there are lots of possibilities to create texture. This could be by adding texture paste, crackle paste, high density mediums like gesso, paints or embossing powder. You could also use embossing folders, layers of papers, die cuts, fabrics or chipboard pieces too. The choice is yours!
I couldn’t just choose one texture so I decided to create my page using 21 different texture panels to inspire you and as I started creating the panels they turned into little scenes, I hope you like them (grin!).
If you’re interested, here’s close up pictures and full details of how the panels that make up my page were created. There’s also a list of all materials I used at the end of this post too.
1. Foil For my first panel, I stamped a dragonfly using black Archival Ink onto some coloured foil, which is recycled from an Easter egg wrapper. I stuck it onto the panel using a glue stick and to create the worn textured look I added some black Archival Ink to emphasis the creases and then I rubbed the foil back to its base silver colour with a baby wipe. To finish I added the glittery flower.
2. Teabags & staples Using staples I attached a used teabag to the panel and then I stuck three teacups on the top which were die cut from some design paper.
3. Glass beads I coloured the panel with some Summer Sky Memento Ink and then applied Liquitex Glass Beads Texture Gel over the top with a palette knife. Whilst the medium was still wet I pressed some pretty blue glass beads into the texture gel. When dry I added the little orange fish which is a brad.
4. Dried leaves I used matte gel medium to layer together a yellow skeleton leaf, a dried beech leaf and a die cut flower, which was cut from some linen textured paper using a Wildflower Tim Holtz Thinlet.
5. Fabric, threads and lace The panel was covered with some self-adhesive fabric and layered with a piece of frayed muslin, some Hessian/burlap and some threads which I topped with a lace flower.
6. Corrugated card I added a piece of corrugated card, which was recycled from some packaging, using matte gel medium then applied some Pébéo white gesso over the top. When dry, I emphasised the corrugations using a Dark Sepia Faber-Castell Big Brush marker. The postage stamp is from Graphic 45 and was distressed using the Dark Sepia marker, Tea Dye Distress Ink and black acrylic paint.
7. Elastic bands I applied some matte gel medium to the panel and sprinkled on some Orthodontic elastic bands that CJ kindly set to me (grin!). When dry I covered them with white gesso and highlighted the circles using a Dark Sepia marker. Then I edged the panel using Vintage Photo Distress Ink and coloured some of the circle centres using Tumbled Glass Distress Ink. To finish, I added three little hearts that were in my craft stash; they were created using the Falling Hearts Thinlet set from Tim Holtz and glossy white cardstock.
8. Crackle I covered the panel with white gesso and when it was dry I applied Earl Grey, Caramel and Coconut Faber-Castell Gelatos smudging the colours with my finger. To create the crackle I used a BoBunny stamp and some Toffee Crisp and Rich Cocoa Momento inks and Black Archival ink.
All the letters for the “texture” wording were created using an X-Cut die set; they were cut from both black and white paper and then layered together onto a panel of textured design paper.
9. Glitter I cut some different coloured glitter sheets into squares and then stuck them onto the panel using a glue stick.
10. Cork I simply stuck a piece of cork designed paper onto the panel.
11. Paint Splatter To add more texture I used some high density Liquitex paint, splattering Vivid Lime Green, Cold Grey and Bright Aqua Green onto the panel and leaving it to dry.
12. Wood This is one of my favourite techniques; I applied Tea Dye, Brushed Corduroy and Ground Espresso Distress Ink pads vertically down the panel and used a paint brush to add some matte gel medium over the top keeping the brush strokes in a vertical direction. I repeated the process a couple of times making sure each layer dried before adding the next.
13. Texture paste I applied some Ranger Texture Paste to the panel using a Vintage Diamond stencil. When dry I coloured the panel using Salty Ocean and Cracked Pistachio Distress Inks, then emphasised the texture paste using some Midnight Sparkle lustre wax.
14. Napkin I simply covered the panel with a gold embossed napkin using a glue stick.
15. Wooden chipboard pieces and rust effect I started by sticking the cogs in place using matte gel medium. When dry I added layers of different shades of rust and brown acrylic paints which I had created by mixing Cadmium Red, Cadmium Yellow and black acrylic paints. When dry I added more detail using Dark Sepia and a Sanguine Faber-Castell Big Brush marker. Then I added some patina by lightly stippling some Bright Aqua Green acrylic paint over the top.
16. Paper layers I covered the panel with leftover paper pieces and edged them using a black Uni Pin marker. The flower is a paper sticker and the foliage was cut using a Funky Floral Thinlet from Tim Holtz and coloured using two green Winsor & Newton Promarkers.
17. Doily and gems I added lots of texture to the panel using layers of doily which I edged with Vintage Photo Distress Ink and a Dark Sepia marker. They are stuck in place using double-sided tape and then embellished with some textured gemstones to add some shimmer and shine.
18. Embossing Folder, thread and buttons I used an embossing folder to add a flower design to a piece of Kraft cardstock and then coloured the raised embossed design using a white Uniball gel pen and Aqua Green Promarker. Then I wound some wax thread around the panel and attached a big button.
19. Drywall/Plasterboard Tape I added some drywall/plasterboard tape to the panel and coloured it using Tumbled Glass Distress Ink and White Linen Dylusions Ink Spray. I splattered the panel with black DecoArt acrylic paint and added some washi tape to create the foreground. Then I added the mushrooms which are from the Field Notes Ephemera Set from Tim Holtz.
20. Embossing enamel and die cut trellis The panel background was coloured using Tea Dye and Antique Linen Distress Ink and Dandelion and Pistachio Memento Ink. The trellis was die cut from white cardstock covered in black Archival Ink and Chunky Silver Stampendous embossing enamel. I added two little birds which were stamped using black Archival Ink, coloured with Promarkers and fussy cut out.
21. Tissue Paper For the final panel, I crumpled some white tissue paper and then added it to the panel using matte gel medium. When dry, I coloured it with Lemon, Cadmium Yellow, Cerulean Blue, Yellow Ochre, Burnt Sienna watercolour paint. The flower was cut from some Kanban cardstock using a Wildflower Tim Holtz Thinlet.
Once the panels were complete I stuck them onto the page using double-sided tape; I coloured the background with a Dark Sepia Faber-Castell Big Brush marker to outline the panels before sticking them in place.
Do you have a favourite panel? It’s hard for me to choose, maybe number 3 with the beads and little fish, number 6 as I love the corrugated card, number 15 with cogs and rust or number 20 as you know I adore robins (grin!).
I hope that you are inspired to join us at Art Journal Journey this month too! We are really looking forward to visiting you and seeing all the Texture that you create on your pages (grin!).
Hoping that you’re all staying safe and well! x
Thanks for joining me today! If you have any questions or comments, I would love to hear from you.
Challenges
I’m joining the It’s A Wrap challenge over at the The Funkie Junkie Boutique Challenge Blog with the Easter Egg wrapping, corrugated packaging and tissue paper wrap I used to create my panels.
I’m happy to be able to join the Anything Goes challenge over at Paperbabe Stamps with my page.
We have been enjoying the antics of the cheeky House Sparrows that have been visiting the bird feeder in our garden so I created a page to remind me of them.
I used my new snowflake thinlet set by Tim Holtz and some images from a Winter Collective paper by Graphic 45 (also new to my craft stash) to create this page, so I’m pleased to join the Something New challenge that I’m hosting this month over at Art Journal Journey. I’d like to thank all of you for your lovely comments and wonderful creations so far, I hope you are having fun getting creative with this theme (grin!).
I stencilled the brickwork background using Antique Linen, Rusty Hinge and Vintage Photo Distress Ink adding some Peeled Paint Distress Ink so they looked like the brick walls of my garden. Next I die cut some snowflakes using my new thinlets set by Tim Holtz and Big Shot machine. They are cut from some recycled Kraft paper and are stuck in place using a glue stick.
Then I layered together some images and borders that I cut from the Winter Collective paper by Graphic 45 which are stuck in place using double-sided tape; the sparrows reminded me of the ones in our garden. I added some red glittery gems to add some sparkle which finished the page.
Here are the house sparrows visiting the feeder in our garden, they are such fun to watch as there are about 9 or 10 of them and only 4 perches on our feeder so they all fly to the feeder at once and then push each other off the perches to get to the seed (grin!).
In the end, they all seem to get there fair share of seed. We are pleased to see them in such numbers in our garden as House Sparrows in the UK have declined over the years and they are one of the highest conservation priorities.
We loved seeing them and these shared the love by creating a heart shape as they fed on the feeder (double grin!).
Thanks for joining me today! If you have any questions or comments, I would love to hear from you.
Challenges
I’m happy to join in the Love challenge over at Country View Challenges with my Winter Sparrows art journal page as we love them visiting our garden.
I’m also pleased to join in the fun over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and their Something New challenge too as I used new products to create this page.
I’m also pleased to join the Snowflakes challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Work it Wednesday with all the snowflakes that I included on my page too.
Here is a list of all the materials used to create this art journal page:
Today I chose to travel back to Paris whilst Art Journaling for the new challenge that is being hosted by the lovely Alison over at A Vintage Journey which is:
We’re all getting older.
It has nothing to do with your age, it’s all about making things look older; here’s what the challenge is about:
“Time for weathering and distressing, or some ageing and antiquing. Make a project using techniques for making the new look old, whether that’s paper projects, altered art or mixed media. Just remember to ensure that you create in one of our preferred styles of vintage, shabby, mixed media, art journaling, industrial, timeworn or steampunk”.
I created a worn and distressed Art Journal page of Paris making the collaged papers look old.
To start, I ripped pieces of book pages about France which came from an old encyclopaedia and also pieces from a sample of Paris themed wallpaper. Then I collaged them onto the page using matte gel medium.
Once dry, I distressed the collage papers by staining them using Ground Espresso and Brushed Corduroy Distress Inks. I did this by stamping the ink pads onto an acrylic block, spritzing with some water and pressing/dripping the ink onto the page and also by painting diluted ink along the edges of each of the collaged papers. To add to the worn grungy look, I also lightly sprinkled the page with some Dark Brown Brusho powder, spritzed it with water to activate the colour and dried it with my heat gun. Next I added some white gesso using a baby wipe and when dry, I edged the collaged pieces using a Dark Sepia Faber-Castell Big Brush marker smudging the ink with my finger.
I stamped a series of Paris related stamps using black Archival ink; the stamps included some little round “T” postage mark stamps from Prima Marketing and also a birdcage, bee, “Paris”, filigree branch and two crowns by Graphic 45 from Hampton Art. I then splattered the whole page with black DecoArt acrylic paint using a paintbrush.
I die cut some flower shapes and a round disc from dark brown and blue patterned papers using some Spellbinders dies and my Big Shot machine. Then I used two rectangular pieces of the same patterned papers which I distressed using scissors, the Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink and the Dark Sepia Big Brush marker. I cut out an oval picture of the Eiffel Tower from the wallpaper sample and backed it with white card. Then I layered them all onto the page using double-sided tape and added some pearl gem stickers along the edge of the patterned paper.
To finish, I added a butterfly sticker from Tim Holtz and some pretty pale blue silk roses which are stuck in place using Glossy Accents.
If you want to join in the fun why not create a weathered, distressed or age effect too and share it with us at A Vintage Journey, it would be lovely to see you there!
For more Inspiration, please pop over to see the amazing creations from my fellow Creative Guides over at A Vintage Journey too.
It seems like many years have passed since we visited Paris, so I guess I must be getting older but hopefully not as worn and distressed as my page (grin!).
This is one of the yummy patisseries that we went to – can you guess which cake I chose from the lovely display here?
My favourite is always the strawberry tarts, they are so delicious and I only had one, I promise … well I only had one everyday for the week we were there (double grin!).
Thanks for joining me today! If you have any questions or comments, I would love to hear from you.
Challenges
I’m pleased to join Art Journal Journey where I’m hosting the Something New challenge this month as I took “new” papers and distressed them to make them look old. Also smooshing the Distress Inks directly onto the neutral collaged papers to make them look old was “new” to me and I’m so glad it worked; it was so much fun making them worn and grungy (grin!).
Here is a list of all the materials used to create this art journal page:
Paris wallpaper sample
Book pages from old encyclopaedia
Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Brushed Corduroy, Ground Espresso)
Colourcraft Brusho (Dark Brown)
Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Dark Sepia 175 B)
Pébéo White Gesso
Hampton Art 7 Gypsies (Birdsong ICO151)
Prima Marketing Clear Stamps (Rossi Belle 587499)
Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
Spellbinders Die Cut – Unknown
The Works Paperstack (Vintage Experience CRO239/TW6)
X-Press It! double-sided tape
Tim Holtz idea-ology Salvage Stickers (Crowded Attic #TH92898)
Our new challenge over at A Vintage Journey is Window On Your World, which is being hosted by Deb. Here’s what it is all about:
“This month we would like to see some kind of window or tunnelled element in your creations. Think hollowed out books, multiple layers with openings to see what has gone before, hidden flaps or windows that when opened reveal a secret element. Just remember to create in one of our preferred styles of vintage, shabby, mixed media, art journaling, industrial, timeworn or steampunk.”
I couldn’t resist art journaling for Deb’s fabulous Window On Your World challenge. Taking the challenge literally, I was inspired by the actual autumnal window display in my house incorporating maple leaves, pumpkins and sunflowers for my autumnal window scene.
I started by stencilling the brickwork using a mixture of Spiced Marmalade, Tea Dye and Rusty Hinge Distress Ink. Then I created the grass by stamping a grass stamp with Cottage Ivy Memento Ink onto some green paper and cutting it out; it’s stuck in place using a UHU Stic which I used for most of the paper elements. Next I coloured some watercolour paper using Brushed Corduroy, Vintage Photo and Ground Espresso Distress Ink and used a branch Thinlet from the Funky Floral set by Tim Holtz to create the tree. I also stamped a wood grain stamp from BoBunny using Rich Cocoa Memento Ink along the trunk.
I used a Vintage window die set cutting it out several times from white cardstock and one from some Tim Holtz wood design paper using my Big Shot machine; they are layered together to form the window frame and window box. To create the interior view through the window, I layered the window frame onto a piece of lace and then some pumpkin coloured patterned paper. The flowers for the window box, little butterflies, pumpkin and “Autumn” sign are all fussy cut from Autumn Collective paper by Graphic 45 and are edged using Spiced Marmalade and Ground Espresso Distress Ink and a Dark Sepia Faber-Castell Big Brush marker.
I also created a “be thankful” sign to tie into the season too, using Clipping Stickers from Tim Holtz; both signs are backed with some Tim Holtz paper.
Lots of small maple leaves finished the page; they were die cut using a Fall Foliage Thinlets set from Tim Holtz from the same Graphic 45 paper, coloured along the edges using Spiced Marmalade and Ground Espresso Distress Ink, edged with a Dark Sepia Faber-Castell marker and stuck in place using double-sided foam tape.
If you enjoy art journaling like me and want to add a window to your page or interpret the theme by creating some openings or hidden flap-windows on your page then why not join us this month (grin!). Alternatively for lots more inspiration and ideas, please pop over to see the amazing creations from my fellow Creative Guides over at A Vintage Journey; it would be lovely to see you there!
I love the seasons and always decorate my dining room window to celebrate each season.
With the challenge being Window On Your World, I was inspired to use some of the elements, namely the maple leaves, pumpkins and sunflowers, that are contained within my own window display as part of my art journal page design; it was such a fun page to create (grin!).
Thanks for joining me today! If you have any questions or comments, I would love to hear from you.
Challenges
I’m glad I found out about Challenge Blogs, like A Vintage Journey, as I enjoy taking part, they provide me with inspiration for my pages and are a wonderful way to meet like-minded arty people. So here are the challenges I’m joining today:
I’m pleased to join the lovely Rike from rike’s art and her Fruit and Veggies challenge over at Art Journal Journey as I included pumpkin on my page.
I’m happy to join in the fun over at Creative Artiste Challenge Blog for their #55-Anything Mixed Media Goes with my mixed media art journal page including inks, papers, lace, markers and stickers.
Our new challenge over at Try it on Tuesday for the next two weeks is In my garden there is …
I created a page full of flowers, insects and happy sentiments which remind me of my garden so far this year and over at Try it on Tuesday there is more inspiration to be found in the amazing creations from my Design Teamies! We hope that you will join us too!
I started by creating blocks of papers to collage on the background of my page using matte gel medium; they were free with a magazine which featured stamps and papers from “The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady”. They have a lovely cottage garden look and feel, with pretty flower, foliage, bird, bee and butterfly designs, which I thought depicted my garden beautifully. Once the gel medium was dry, I scribbled Coconut and Kiwi Faber-Castell Gelatos along the edges of the papers and smudged the colour with my finger. Then I used a foxglove stamp, which was also free with the magazine, using black Archival Ink and then coloured them using Red Violet, Blossom, Sunflower and Bud Green Spectrum Aqua markers. I fussy cut an oval image of a bird in its nest as we have had so many young birds visiting our garden this year and added some Graphic 45 stickers which read “Love”, “Smile”, “Dream” and “Bloom where you are planted”; they are all outlined with a black Faber-Castell Big Brush marker. Then to finish, I added a pretty yellow 3D butterfly.
We have had many flowers blooming in our garden and the foxgloves looked particularly beautiful earlier this year!
As T Stands for Tuesday, I’m sharing a pot of tea that we had with our friends in the gardens at Lytham Hall – Happy T day!
Challenges
I’m pleased to join the lovely Gill from gibbyfrogettcraftations and her Anything with Eyes challenge over at Art Journal Journey with the birds and insects I included on my page; sorry I haven’t joined your fabulous theme as much as I would have liked too this month!
I’m also joining the Butterflies challenge over at Moo Mania & More with all the butterflies on my page.
Thanks for joining me today! If you have any questions or comments, I would love to hear from you.
Here is a list of all the materials used to create this art journal page:
The Country Dairy of an Edwardian Lady design Papers and Stamps – free with Simply Cards & Papercraft magazine
Faber-Castell Gelato (Coconut, Kiwi)
Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
Spectrum Aqua Artist Marker (Red Violet, Blossom, Sunflower, Bud Green)
As my weekend and week so far has been filled with joy, I created this art journal page to celebrate – I hope you like it!
Also I’m so excited that my Guest Designer post has been posted today over at Country View Challenges so if you are looking for my Opposites inspired page you can find it on my blog here, thank you!
I started by adding Turquoise and Gold Spectrum aqua marker to the background by scribbling the marker onto an acrylic block, spritzing with water and pressing the block onto the paper. Then I stamped a Joy Background stamp from Great Impressions using a Slate Spectrum aqua marker over the whole page. Next I stamped the large blue flowers using a foam flower stamp and Bahama Blue Memento Ink and some heart outlines using Angel Pink Memento Ink and Picked Raspberry Distress Ink. The flamingos and flowers, which are from Hampton Art, are stamped onto some bright pink and white dots paper which was recycled from a paper bag that my birthday present came in. I fussy cut them and stuck them in place using the matte gel medium; for some of the flowers I reversed the paper bag to give a lighter contrasting tone. I also used the paper bag to punch out pink dots and hearts; they are all stuck into place using Liquitex matte gel medium. I added the pink, yellow and blue foam spotted flowers and some rub-on transfer flowers from Royal & Langnickel. Then used a black Uni Pin marker to add more detail to the dots, hearts and flowers. I added some pieces of pink and white washi tape and the pink glittery hearts, and then to finish I splattered the page with a pink Uni Posca paint pen and black DecoArt acrylic paint.
As it was a Bank Holiday weekend here in the UK we’ve been having fun with friends, walking, enjoying birthday treats and touring Lancashire. As T Stands for Tuesday, I’m sharing some beer that we had this weekend. Firstly, here we are visiting Cross Bay Brewing Company Brew House in Morecambe, where they have both Real and Craft Ales on offer.
This beer is their Two-Four beer which is a brown ale made with maple and pecans – delicious!
We also visited The Three Mariners which is located by the river in Lancaster.
Here I had Honey Ale by Fat Cat Brewery in Norwich, I thought Bleubeard and Elizabeth might like the cat on this hand pump clip (grin!) …
… and it tasted very yummy too! Cheers and wishing you a Happy T day!
Challenges
I’m glad I found out about Challenge Blogs as I enjoy taking part, they provide me with inspiration for my pages and are a wonderful way to meet like-minded arty people. So here are the challenges I’m joining today:
I’m pleased to join the lovely Erika from the blog BioArtGal and her In the Sky/In the Air challenge over at Art Journal Journey with my blue sky and sunshine coloured page, it feels like ” joy is in the air” .
I’m joining the One Word challenge over at Moo Mania & More with my “Joy” art journal page.
I’m also pleased to join in the fun over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and their Happy Birthday challenge as my art journal page captures birthday joy – wishing you a Happy 10th Birthday!
I’m pleased to join the Flowers/Garden challenge over at Paperbabe Stamps with all the flowers that I included on my art journal page too.
I’m happy to join Creative Artiste Challenge Blog and their their Creative Artiste’s #49th Challenge: Anything Mixed Media Goes with my mixed media art journal page (which included markers, ink, washi tape, stickers, paper etc).
Thanks for joining me today! If you have any questions or comments, I would love to hear from you.
Here is a list of all the materials used to create this art journal page:
Spectrum Aqua Artist Marker (Aquamarine, Gold, Slate)
As usual, you have two weeks to create your art, you can use any medium and digital is always welcome. Don’t forget to check out the wonderful inspiration provided by the Design Team over at the blog too!
Inspired by springtime flowers, I collaged the background of the page using Tim Holtz Collage Paper and some white paper that I had stamped using a lilac stamp; they are stuck in place using Liquitex matte gel medium. As I was experimenting stamping the lilacs using Magenta, Purple, Moss, Bud Green and Chocolate Spectrum Aqua Markers to give a watercolour effect I thought I would use them on this page rather than throw them away. Then using black Versafine Ink, I stamped the “springtime” wording using an alphabet stamp and also added some clocks, both from Docrafts, as well as some bees and butterflies from Hampton Arts. The daffodils are fussy cut from an old flower book and stuck in place using Liquitex matte gel medium. When the gel medium was dry, I outlined them with a black Uni Pin marker. To finish, I coloured the wording using light green, yellow and pink Uni Posca paint pens and then covered each of the letters with Ranger Glossy Accents to give a 3D effect.
Whilst out walking around Glasson Dock for my birthday we saw lots of beautiful daffodils along the roadside.
These daffodils look just like the ones on my page (grin!).
As T Stands for Tuesday I’m sharing our pot of green tea that we had at a lovely café in Glasson Dock – Happy T Day everyone!
Challenges
I’m glad I found out about Challenge Blogs, like Try it on Tuesday, as I enjoy taking part, they provide me with inspiration for my pages and are a wonderful way to meet like-minded arty people. So here are the challenges I’m joining today:
I always find that I have a huge selection of scraps leftover from creating art journal pages, which for some reason I just can’t seem to throw away (grin!). I usually try to use them up on my art journal covers and as I often use the same materials that can be found in the journal, the covers then also remind me of the pages that are inside (double grin!).
As my journal holds some of the springtime pages that I created for my Hello Springtime theme over at Art Journal Journey that I am hosting, I gave the cover a springtime feel too – I hope you like it!
I started by covering the background with a book page that I recycled from a part-work magazine, using as I did to stick all the paper elements, Liquitex matte gel medium. Then I used some washi tape, with a tape measure design on it, over the seam where two pieces of the book pages joined together. Next I stuck some lattice die cut pieces, remnants of a recycled brown bag, leftover pieces of teabag and also scrap pieces of wallpaper to the page. I added the robin, branches and leaves which are ripped pieces of tissue and then the scene started looking more like springtime, so I coloured the leaves using a Bud Green Spectrum Aqua Marker. The flowers are cobbled-together using leftover pieces of hydrangea flowers from a wallpaper sample and rub-on transfers of violets by Royal & Langnickel, along with some stamped hydrangea flowers using Elderberry Memento Ink. They are loosely coloured with watered down Purple and Navy Spectrum Aqua Markers so the flowers blended together. I also stamped the “My Art Journal” wording using the Elderberry Memento Ink and added more colour to the lettering using the Purple and Navy Spectrum aqua markers again. The “spring greetings” banner, “grow” tag and “plant a garden” banner are Graphic 45 Cardstock Stickers and I used the tape measure washi tape to bind and finish the edges of the page.
As you probably know by now, I love robins and this page reminded me of a robin we saw on a springtime walk last year. I think he had stopped by to say “hello”, isn’t he adorable (grin!).
Challenges
I’m glad I found out about Challenge Blogs, like Art Journal Journey, as I enjoy taking part, they provide me with inspiration for my pages and are a wonderful way to meet like-minded arty people. So here are the challenges I’m joining today:
I’m also joining the Close to Nature challenge over at Moo Mania & More with my springtime art journal cover.
Hello everyone, I’m so excited to be over at Stamps & Stencils as Guest Designer for their It’s been a while… challenge this month. Sue is the host for this challenge and kindly provided the following brief:
Being creative often leads you in different directions and sometimes it isn’t until you start that you know where you are heading. For this challenge I thought that as we’ve not done it for a while it would be good to let your creative spirit wander and have a theme of Anything Goes. Your project must be mixed media and include stamping and/or stencilling but apart from that it’s up to you !
I am often inspired by things I see and do, so my art journal page is inspired by rainbow colours and sunshine to mark the end of summer. Here’s a sneak peek of the page I have created for this challenge, the full version can be found here at Stamps & Stencils along with my tutorial.
Thanks so much to the team at Stamps & Stencils for having me as Guest Designer this month. I hope that you are inspired by their It’s been a while… challenge too and are able to join in the fun!
Thanks for joining me today! If you have any questions or comments, I would love to hear from you.
Here is a list of all the materials used to create this art journal page:
